Harry and Meghan’s Netflix show is a tedious, narcissistic wallow

The opening scenes of the eagerly anticipated – or keenly dreaded – Netflix series Harry & Meghan set out the couple’s stall.

‘This is a first-hand account of Harry & Meghan’s story, and told with never before seen personal archive… all interviews were completed by August 2022.’

This hint – that nothing was affected by the Queen’s death – is then compounded by the next statement. ‘Members of the Royal Family declined to comment on the content within this series.’ The promise is clear; this is going to be explosive.

Well, it isn’t. Not so far, anyway. Instead, over a near-interminable first three hours, the viewer endures a mixture of the same biographical material that we’ve all seen a thousand times before. We see hagiographic treatment of the apparently saintly Harry and Meghan, angry attacks on the media coverage and racist harassment directed towards Meghan and, eventually, what viewers have been hoping for: direct criticism of the Royal Family, albeit less full-frontal, in these opening episodes, than might have been anticipated from the explosive and provocative – to say nothing of misleading – trailers.